Call for Abstracts (250 words)
2026 International Design Conference (IDC) & Education Symposium

Submission Deadline: March 20, 2026

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Theme: AUTHENTICITY
This year the IDC & Education Symposium at IDSA centers on the theme of AUTHENTICITY, exploring the importance of genuine expression and integrity in design academia and practice. Beyond personal style or branding, authenticity invites reflection on how identity, culture, and institutional contexts shape the ways we design, teach, research, and grow professionally.

Drawing from Simone de Beauvoir’s The Ethics of Ambiguity, authenticity can be understood as a recognition of our “situated freedom” - the idea that our creative agency is always exercised within social, historical, and material conditions. In design, this means acknowledging positionality, power, and responsibility while engaging honestly with communities, collaborators, materials, and emerging technologies.

The IDC & Education Symposium convenes educators, students, researchers, and practitioners to examine authenticity across creative practice, pedagogy, and professional development. We welcome contributions that reflect on lived experience, cultural integrity, ethical action, and honest storytelling, and that advance dialogue on how authentic engagement can strengthen the transformative impact of design.

Submission Formats and Abstract Structure
We welcome contributions across the following formats. Submissions are encouraged to engage with the theme of Authenticity understood as situated practice, ethical responsibility, and lived experience within design.

Full Papers
Original scholarly work presenting empirical, theoretical, or methodological contributions.

Full paper abstracts should include:
A) Purpose and context.
B) Key question(s) or problem framing.
C) Approach and methodology.
D) Outcomes, findings, or contributions (empirical, theoretical, or methodological).
E) Discussion of implications for design education, practice, or research — including relevance to authenticity, positionality, integrity, or lived experience where appropriate.

Visual Papers
Design-led, practice-based, or visually oriented work where images, diagrams, or artifacts are central to the inquiry.

Visual paper abstracts should include:
A) Purpose and context.
B) Central question(s) and contribution.
C) Description of visual or material approach.
D) Insights, reflections, or outcomes that advance understanding within the selected track.

Workshops
Interactive sessions engaging participants in active learning, experimentation, or collaborative exploration.

Workshop abstracts should include:
A) Objectives.
B) Session structure and activities.
C) Expected participant outcomes.
D) Relevance to authenticity in design education, research, or practice.

Panels
Moderated discussions featuring multiple perspectives on a shared question or tension.

Panel abstracts should include:
A) Central theme or provocation.
B) Rationale and relevance.
C) Brief description of panelists’ perspectives.
D) Intended contribution to symposium dialogue.

Posters
Concise presentations of emerging research, pedagogical experiments, practice-based inquiry, or work in progress. Student work is encouraged!

Poster abstracts should include:
A) Purpose and context.
B) Core question or focus.
C) Methods or approach.
D) Preliminary findings, insights, or contributions.
E) What attendees will gain from engaging with the work.
Posters are particularly appropriate for early-stage research, exploratory studio models, reflective practice, or focused case studies.

Submission Categories (Tracks) and Author Guidelines

The IDC & Education Symposium welcomes submissions across four tracks: Design Education, Design Practice, Research in Design, and the Open Track. Contributors are invited to select the format and track that best reflect their work, perspective, and mode of inquiry.

Submissions must be in English and adhere to formatting requirements (abstracts will be text-only, invited full submissions should follow a provided template). Submissions must be original and not previously published or under review elsewhere. Authors should situate their work within relevant literature, prior art, or practice-based context where appropriate.

Track 2 – Design Education
Examines authenticity in teaching and learning. This track considers how pedagogy shapes designers’ understanding of positionality, lived experience, and professional integrity. Contributions may address curriculum design, studio culture, assessment, mentorship, institutional structures, or the evolving role of educators in preparing responsible practitioners.

Track 1 – Design Practice
Explores authenticity in professional practice. This track invites reflections on how designers navigate identity, responsibility, collaboration, materiality, and emerging technologies in real-world contexts. Submissions may examine ethical decision-making, cultural integrity, client relationships, or the tensions between commercial demands and personal or social values.

Track 3 – Research in Design
Focuses on authenticity in inquiry and knowledge production. This track welcomes empirical, theoretical, and methodological work that reflects rigor, transparency, and ethical engagement. Submissions may explore research design, participatory approaches, embodied knowledge, interdisciplinary collaboration, or the role of design research in addressing complex social challenges.

Track 4 – Open Track
Provides space for interdisciplinary, experimental, or unconventional contributions that expand the boundaries of industrial design. This track welcomes speculative, critical, narrative, or emerging practices that challenge norms and provoke dialogue about what authentic engagement in design might mean now and in the future.

Review Process and Evaluation Criteria
The IDC & Education Symposium follows a two-stage review process. Authors first submit a 250-word abstract (anonymized, where applicable) indicating their selected format and track. Abstracts will undergo peer review and may result in either a rejection or an invitation to submit a full contribution in the selected format (e.g., full paper, visual paper, workshop plan, panel outline, or poster proposal). Invitations will include detailed, format-specific guidelines.

Full submissions (anonymized, where applicable) will be due approximately one month (mid-May) after abstract decisions and will undergo a second round of peer review. Final decisions may result in rejection, acceptance with minor revisions, or acceptance. Submissions requiring major revisions will not be accepted to the conference.

All submissions will undergo double-blind peer review (Workshop proposals may be single-blind). Please remove author names and identifying information from materials prior to submission.

Abstracts and full contributions will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

• Clarity and Focus – Clear articulation of purpose, central question, or contribution appropriate to the selected format and track.
• Significance and Contribution – Meaningful advancement of dialogue in design education, practice, or research.
• Rigor and Coherence – Appropriate methodology, conceptual framing, or practice-based approach; logical structure and supported claims.
• Relevance to Audience – Clear value for educators, students, practitioners, and researchers.
• Engagement with the Theme – Thoughtful and substantive connection to Authenticity, including considerations of positionality, integrity, responsibility, or lived experience.

Final decisions will consider reviewer feedback and overall program balance. Selected contributions may be considered for inclusion in conference proceedings; additional details will be announced.

Note: IDSA's Education Council  will determine the final presentation format for selected submissions based on content, program fit, available space, and scheduling considerations. Final assignments may include traditional paper presentations, panels, workshops, rapid-fire presentations, or other appropriate formats.

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Call for Submissions Timeline

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